Wye Oak
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Tags: indie, indie rock, shoegaze
The droll tone and fleeting sweetness of a Yo La Tengo are cut into the more deeply textural concerns of shoegaze in the Baltimore group’s work. It’s an interesting alignment, given the contrast in senses of humor. But Wye Oak successfully shed tonnage from the latter without losing potency. Wye Oak (formerly known as Monarch) are Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack. Jenn & Andy have been playing music together and apart in Baltimore, MD, and chose their name from the honorary state tree of Maryland. If Children is the culmination of many months of recording, polishing and perfecting to achieve what Any Given Tuesday best described as, “. .. . mingling in a room full of shoegaze, alt-country, folk, and noise, shaking hands, kissing cheeks, and making friends with everyone.” If Children is an exuberant debut – noisy and restrained in turn, Wye Oak describe their philosophy: "We’d like to think that if a song is good enough, it’ll stand on its own regardless of how much noise you pile on top. On the other hand, we do like noise." Listen, and we think you will have to agree! Listen at Last.fm
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TheOwlMag on Wye Oak
4 months agoWye Oak Civilian Merge Records
This DC based duo has been around since 2006 making records and touring here and there. After Civilian, if they like, they could tour for as long as they want.
Lead singer/guitarist Jenn Wasner is, cute, yes. She can sing pretty, of course, but Wasner’s emotional euphemisms and hip hairstyles are not meant to fool anyone into thinking that she’s just another pretty face. This chick plays the shit out of the guitar. And her partner, Andy Stack, is a rhythmic/bass playing/whatever else mastermind.
Smart in releasing Civilian (3/7) just weeks before SXSW, it seems they’re not even going (updated – they are). Rather, the duo is out touring Europe and will be back in the states just a few days after its release.
And while the previous Wye Oak albums have been stripped down to imitate their bare bones-like live show, Civilian is an exploration of what’s possible in the studio for these two. Massive layers of guitars and even bigger vocal production yield walls of sound, yet in a live setting, one might wonder how a single guitar player and drummer with a synth could even make a small percentage of this possible.
The album is brilliant, full of  deep content and fierce melodies, but Wye Oak’s biggest fans’ concern should be – how are they going to pull this off live? Easily one of my favorites so far this year, I don’t see this falling far from the top in the end. And, if they can manage to bridge the gap from spectacular album to breathtaking show, this is one band you cannot miss live in 2011.
Standout tracks: “We Were Wealth,” “Civilian,” and “Two Small Deaths.”
more at theowlmag.comBuzz Bands LA on Wye Oak
7 months agoKnown for their balance of intimacy and scorching shoegaze-inspired folk, Wye Oak returns with a new single courtesy of Adult Swim's Singles Program. The only thing is, "Spiral" doesn't sound much like anything from the Baltimore duo's past repertoire. Fans of last year's "Civilian" ( including us ) may be shocked at the song's programmed beats, heavy echos and marimba loops, and even more surprised at how much darker Jenn Wasner can get with her writing. Because the Adult Swim series offers free downloads as a one-off, Wasner took this opportunity to explore new sonic and rhythmic ideas, more here